BAE picks first chief counsel for India

BAE Systems has appointed its first chief counsel for India, sending land systems legal chief Mike Elston to Delhi.

BAE ;Systems ;has appointed its first chief counsel for India, sending land systems legal chief Mike Elston to Delhi.

The move is part of a BAE business strategy to exploit growth markets, with India having boosted its defence spending by 8 per cent this year.

In a memo sent out to staff and seen by The Lawyer, group general counsel Phillip Bramwell said: “In his new role Mike will assume responsibility for the provision of legal advice relating to all aspects of BAE Systems’ business in India.”

Elston will report to Julian Scopes, president of BAE in India, as well as Bramwell, who is based in the UK. He will take up his new post at the start of November.

Bramwell is halfway through his three-year plan to revitalise BAE’s legal function, with the goal of creating a world-class group.